Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins (or bread)

 

One of my favorites from Emil and Colin's baking class with Chef Freyka Nunez del Prado. I've included her pro-tips. :)

2 medium zucchinis, peeled and shredded

¾ cup sugar

½ cup Canola oil

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

 

1 ½ cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. baking soda

¾ cup mini chocolate chips, lightly dusted with ½ a teaspoon of flour

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Shred zucchini in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Set aside for at least five minutes. Squeeze all the water from the zucchini and put it in a different container, discarding the liquid.

In a mixing bowl, mix the sugar and all the wet ingredients.

In a separate mixing bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Use a spatula to combine – do not over mix.

Add chocolate chips to the batter.

Pour into loaf pan or spoon into lined muffin cups. Bake loaf for approximately 40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Bake muffins for 25 minutes, but check (with a toothpick) after 20 minutes. Cool for ten minutes.

Cinnamon Bread French Toast

 

Our kids stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Lee overnight after Thanksgiving and Grandpa Bob made French Toast with Cinnamon Bread from Kneader's for breakfast the next morning. What?! This "taste treat" is so much better than some of my Dad's other food ideas. I put it over-the-top with Melissa's Buttermilk Syrup.

1 loaf of Kneader's Cinnamon Bread (makes about 13 slices)

6 eggs

6 tsp vanilla

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

Cut cinnamon bread into 1/2-inch slices. 

Whisk together eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and milk. Pour into a small baking dish (7"x 9"). Soak slices of bread on both sides. Fry on a hot griddle. You know the rest... :)

Smoothies

It's summer! Smoothies for breakfast. Another thing I make all the time that I haven't written down ever, so here you go.

2-3 ice cubes

2+ cups frozen fruit (we like strawberries and peaches best because they are less seed-y than some)

1 banana

1 yogurt (vanilla works with everything)

2 tsp. honey

Fruit juice (orange juice doesn't really work, but apple always does)

Put ingredients in order into a blender. Pour juice in last and fill until about 3/4 of the level of the fruit. Pulse a couple of times, then blend until you don't see any big chunks. Add more juice if it's not blending. Enjoy!

Waffles and Raspberry Syrup

I got a waffle iron for Christmas! I knew Mom had a great recipe for waffles because we ate them at her house earlier this year. She said she got it from Studio 5 and they called them "Christmas Waffles" because they don't know this can be Any Day of the Week Waffles. The raspberry syrup is to die for.

Waffles

2 c. flour

2 T. sugar

2 T. baking powder (yes, TABLESPOONS)

3/4 tsp. salt

2 c. milk

2 eggs

1/4 c. vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together; mix wet ingredients together, then combine. Pour into hot waffle iron and cook. (Every waffle iron is different. Ours took about 4 minutes to look like the picture.)

Raspberry Syrup

2 c. frozen raspberries (I used fresh because that's what I had - it turned out great)

1 1/2 c. sugar

2 c. water

3 T. cornstarch in 1/2 c. cold water

1 T. lemon juice

Cook raspberries, sugar and water together in a saucepan on medium heat until raspberries are thawed. Bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in cold water, then add a little of the raspberry mixture and combine. Add cornstarch mixture to saucepan. Add lemon juice. Simmer on low heat until ready to serve, stirring often. (Syrup can be cooled and strained, then reheated.)

Cinnamon Rolls

I love to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Last Christmas I decided to make them for breakfast, which meant eating a very late brunch. What the heck with the four and a half hours of assembling, kneading, waiting for dough to rise, more assembly, more waiting for rising, then baking?! The humanity!! I just want to eat a warm cinnamon roll. This time I did most of the work the day before I wanted to eat cinnamon rolls for breakfast and it worked like a charm. As all my plans do. (This is from America's Test Kitchen's Family Cookbook.)

Basic Sweet Dough

3/4 c. buttermilk, warm (but not hot)

6 T. (or 3/4 of a stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

4 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. sugar

1 envelope (2 1/4 tsp) instant or rapid-rise yeast

1 1/4 tsp salt

Whisk the buttermilk, butter, and eggs together in a large liquid measuring cup. Mix 4 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook. With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and mix until the dough comes together, about 1 minute.

Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. (If, after 5 minutes, more flour is needed, add the remaining 1/4 cup flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough clears the side of the bowl but sticks to the bottom.)

Turn the dough onto a clean counter and knead by hand to form a smooth, round ball, about 1 minute. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Cinnamon Roll Filling and Glaze

3/4 c packed light brown sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

Pinch of salt

1 T. melted butter

3 T. cream cheese, softened

3 T. buttermilk or milk

1 1/2 c. confectioners' sugar

Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt together in a small bowl.

Press the dough (after the 2 hours of rising) into a 12 by 16-inch rectangle. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle on the brown sugar mixture, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge. Lightly press the mixture into the dough.

Roll the dough into a tight cylinder and pinch the seam closed. Slice the cylinder into 12 evenly sized rolls using a serrated knife. Arrange the rolls in a greased metal baking dish (I only have metal cake pans, so I used those). Wrap the pan tightly in greased plastic wrap.

Refrigerate overnight or up to 16 hours.

Let rise in a warm place until the rolls have doubled in size and are pressed against one another, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Bake rolls (uncovered - obviously?) in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. (Watch them, though. I thought mine were a little overdone. Brian loves overcooked food, so that was a win for him.)

Beat cream cheese, buttermilk, and confectioners' sugar together. While the rolls are still fairly warm, spoon the glaze over them.

Broiled Grapefruit

This is one of the first recipes my friend Laura contributed to a cookbook I asked her to help with.  My first thought was, "I've made a huge mistake."  Broiled grapefruit?  Who does these things?  Then we moved to Arizona where grapefruit trees are aplenty and people leave boxes of grapefruit at church with signs that say, "Take these!  I beg of you!"  So I looked around Pinterest to see what grapefruit goodness would pop up and it turns out broiled grapefruit is a thing.  Like, a good thing.  Like a my kids ate this crazy fast and immediately asked for more thing.  Here's how you make it:

Step 1: Steal a grapefruit off of your neighbor's grapefruit tree.  (Stolen citrus always tastes better.)

Step 2: Preheat your broiler on Hi.

Step 3: Cut the grapefruit in half.  Gently loosen the fruit from the rind a bit.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar and drizzle with honey.

Step 4: Broil for 3-10 minutes, or until sizzling and the fruit is ready to burst.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

My friends and I just finished making a cookbook.  It's so pretty!  I love having new recipes to try.  This one is from my friend, Emily.  I'm always on the lookout for non-cereal breakfast items.  Muffins are my son's favorite food and when he saw that these had chocolate chips in them, he was pretty blown away.  I think he likes them because, as Jim Gaffigan put it: "There is no difference between a muffin and cake.  A muffin is a bald cupcake."

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 1/2 C all purpose flour (or 3/4 C white, 3/4 C wheat)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3 large bananas, mashed

3/4 C sugar

1 egg

1/4 C butter, melted

1/2 C chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray muffin pans with non-stick spray or use paper liners.  Sift together dry ingredients. Set aside.  Combine bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter in a large bowl.  Fold in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips. Scoop into muffin pans. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Rice Pudding Muffins

My favorite way to use leftover rice!

1/2 c. raisins (opt.)
1 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tb baking powder
1/2 c sugar
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg
3/4 c milk
1/4 c oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c cooked rice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a small bowl, soak the raisins in enough water to cover them.  In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.  In another bowl, lightly beat the egg and add the remaining wet ingredients except the rice.

Drain the water from the raisins and mix the raisins and rice into the flour mixture (this is an important step- the rice needs to be mixed into the dry ingredients very well).  Add the egg and milk mixture to the flour and rice mixture and stir until just moistened.

Fill greased muffin tins.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.  Serve warm

Easy Cream Biscuits

You cannot go wrong with these!  They turn out perfect every time.  And they taste even better when they're heart shaped.  Perfect Father's Day card not included. :)

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c. heavy cream (I've used regular cream and it's fine, but the heavy stuff definitely tastes better)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Whisk together the dry ingredients, then stir in the cream with a wooden spoon and keep stirring until the dough starts to form.  Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly until it's smooth.  Pat the dough into a circle that is 3/4 of an inch tall.  Use a biscuit cutter (or metal cookie cutters that are simple shapes).  Keep reforming the dough and cutting until it's all used up.  Bake on the parchment-lined baking sheet for 14-15 minutes.

Pancakes

I think everyone should have a pancake recipe that isn't Bisquick (no disrespect) or Krusteaz (disrespect).  My kids love these - it's a Saturday Morning Specialty at our house. :)

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 TB sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

3 TB unsalted butter, melted and briefly cooled (I buy more of this than salted butter because we use it in anything that calls for butter - less greasy)

2 c. buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, whisk 1 Tablespoon lemon juice with regular milk and set it aside for a few minutes)

Vegetable Oil Spray

Directions:
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, and then the buttermilk.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well and stir with a rubber spatula until you can't seen dry flour anymore.  (Don't mix it too much, it will affect how your pancakes rise.)

Lightly spray a heated skillet (or whatever you're using) with vegetable oil and drop the pancake batter on in 1/4 cup scoops.  Wait, you all know what to do at this point, right? :)

Breakfast Shake

This is our morning breakfast shake. It sounds disgusting, but it's not. My kids actually drink it.

1 Banana
1 handful of spinach
1 cup (apx) of frozen blueberries
1/2 cup POM juice
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk (or regular milk)

Blend it in the blender. I throw in some ground flax seeds when I remember .

Granola

I love granola for many reasons, but this one is especially nice because there is no sugar in it and you can store all the ingredients in your food storage. I like things like that. I also make this about 3 times a week and eat nearly the whole thing by myself. It is most excellent with fresh blueberries.

Granola is so easily adapted to what is in your pantry that day, so you can spice things up a different way until you find your favorite combinations.

Mix together

3 cups oats (I've used both Quaker and the quick oats from the #10 cans of food storage. I like the consistency the quick oats give it, but they're both good.)

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup chopped nuts (chopped so they are undetectable to little people, in my case) (slivered almonds, pecans, & walnuts are excellent choices)

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 to 1 cup dehydrated apple slices, crushed slightly

I also like to throw in 1 Tbsp of ground flax seeds

Combine

1/4 cup canola oil

3 Tbsp maple syrup

3 Tbsp honey

Pour over dry ingredients and mix well.

Heat oven to 250 and spread granola evenly onto a baking sheet. Cook for 1 hour 15 min, stirring half way through. It smells amazing. Enjoy!

Buttermilk Syrup

I've been looking for the words to describe the deliciousness of this syrup.  My kids say it tastes like candy.  I think it tastes like the inside of a rainbow.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. butter
2 T. corn syrup
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in heavy saucepan, except vanilla and baking soda.  Boil 5 minutes (not a hard boil).  Remove from heat and add vanilla and baking soda.  Serve over pancakes, waffles, french toast, aebleskivers, ice cream, or just eat with a spoon.   

Better Homes & Gardens Coffee Cake

This was (is) one of my favorite things that Mom used to make.  Coffee cake always reminds me of that story of Dad refusing to eat coffee cake at his friend's house when he was a kid because he thought it was against the Word of Wisdom.  Hee!  I always double the topping, so I went ahead and wrote it that way.  Duh - always more nuts and butter.

Cake:

1/4 c. canola oil

1 beaten egg

1/2 c. milk

1 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

Topping:

1/2 c. brown sugar

2 T. flour

2 tsp. cinnamon

2 T. butter, melted

1 c. chopped nuts (I like using walnuts because they're softer)

Combine oil, egg, and milk.  In a separate bowl sift dry ingredients together.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients a cup at a time, stirring well in between each addition.  Pour into a greased 9"x9" pan.

In a small bowl, melt butter in the microwave.  Add the rest of the topping ingredients and stir with a fork until the butter is completely mixed in.  Crumble over the cake batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.  Insert a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, the cake is done and you can eat it!

Best Biscuits

I've been on a life-long search for the perfect homemade biscuit.  I can die now.  This is it.  There are so many things to love about these biscuits.  I always have all of the ingredients in my kitchen (no buttermilk required!).  They are equally delicious with sausage gravy or strawberries and whipped cream.  They are HUGE and buttery and delicious.  So much love.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 T. baking powder
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. + 1 T. shortening (I use butter flavored.  You could also use actual butter, I suppose.)
1 cup milk
2 T. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.  Cut in the shortening until mixture becomes a course meal.  Gradually stir in milk. 

Turn onto a floured board.  (The less you knead the dough, the better.)  Roll out dough until it is 1 inch thick.  Cut biscuits using a glass dipped in flour.  Place biscuits onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 13-15 minutes, or until edges begin to brown.  Brush with melted butter immediately after you take them out of the oven.

Makes 6 large biscuits.  (I have been able to get 12 smaller biscuits from this same amount of dough.)

Aaaaaahhhhh...Creamy Mango Smoothies!

This is the perfect after school snack when it's so hot outside that the kids get sweaty just walking home from the bus stop. It's sooo good! It's refreshing, easy and healthy. With only 200 calories, 1 gram of fat, and loaded with vitamins, it really is the perfect snack. We had it for Family Home Evening treat this week.

2 mangoes, seed removed, peeled and chopped (I used canned, I've also used frozen and both work)
2 cups Mango Sorbet (Hagen Daas)
12 oz Fat Free French Vanilla yogurt (Dannon Light & Fit)
1 1/2 cups skim milk, or soymilk

Combine in a blender. Makes 6 servings, although, I could drink the whole thing by myself.

Raspberry Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are dangerously delicious. I highly advise using the foil muffin liners. Paper liners result in you having to lick half of the muffin out of the paper, and they're easier to enjoy all in one piece. Also, don't make them when you're home alone with children who won't eat them, because you will eat all of them.

2 C. brown sugar

3/4 C butter

6 egg whites

2 C vanilla yogurt

2 1/4 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 C oats

1 C blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1 C raspberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 375.

Melt butter on stove and add brown sugar. Let cool.

Leave eggs out to room temperature. Mix whites until fluffy, then add to the butter mixture. Add yogurt. Combine dry ingredients, then add to wet mixture gradually. Stir in berries. Fill muffin tins 3/4 of the way, and sprinkle with sugar in the raw. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Makes close to 3 dozen.

Mom's Birthday Quiche Lorraine

My cousin, Koryn, made an amazing pork dish for Christmas and when I asked her where she got the recipe she bore testimony of America's Test Kitchen and the books that have come of that PBS show. The next time I was in a book store, a magazine size version of ATK caught my eye. Then, through some ridiculous twists and turns, I ended up needing a recipe for quiche for Mom's birthday party last week. What says happy birthday better than quiche?! Seriously, though, quiche is romantic because it's French and it has stinky cheese in it. Make it for someone you love for Valentine's Day!

Crust:
1 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 tsp. salt
6 T. unsalted butter, softened
2 oz. cream cheese, softened

Custard and Topping:
5 slices bacon, chopped fine
3/4 c. half-and-half
3/4 c. sour cream
2 large eggs plus 1 large yolk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 c. Gruyere, finely shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the crust, whisk flour, Parmesan and salt together in a bowl. In a large, separate bowl beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture. Mix the dough until the dough forms large clumps. Flatten the dough into a 6-inch disk and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate.

Press the dough evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes, then transfer it to the freezer until it's firm (about 10 minutes). (Once the dough is pressed into the pie pan, it can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

Spray two 12-inch square pieces of foil lightly with cooking spray and place them greased-side down on the chilled pie shell. Fill with pie weights and fold the excess foil over the edges of the dough. Bake until the surface of the dough no longer looks wet, 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights and continue to bake for about 5 more minutes - until the crust is brown. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for about 15 minutes.

For the custard and topping, cook bacon until crisp and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. (We did this step the day before and it saved us a lot of grief on the day of the party.) Whisk the half-and-half, sour cream, eggs, yolk, salt, pepper, nutmeg, Gruyere, and three-quarters of the bacon together in a large bowl.

Pour the custard mixture into the warm pie shell and bake until the crust is golden and the custard is set around the edges, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle remaining bacon over the surface of the quich and continue baking until the center of the quiche is barely set, 5 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

The quiche can be refrigerated in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap for up to 3 days. We served this cold at Mom's party and everyone seemed to enjoy it. David thought it was too salty, but that would be an easy thing to control. :)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

Another magazine find. As I was making this, I told David that these were going to be the best things I've ever made; and they were.

Dough

1/4 c warm water

2 1/2 t. yeast

1 t. sugar

1/2 c milk

2 eggs

1 c canned pumpkin puree

1/3 c margarine, melted

1/2 c sugar

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. cloves

1 t. salt

5-6 c flour

Filling

2/3 c canned pumpkin puree

1/2 c butter, room temp.

1 c packed brown sugar

2 T cinnamon

Cream Cheese Icing

4 oz. cream cheese, room temp.

3 T. butter

1/2 t. vanilla

2-2 1/2 c powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine warm water, yeast and teaspoon of sugar in small bowl. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Let stand until froth doubles.

2. In mixer, combine milk, eggs, pumpkin, margarine, the 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Mix until smooth.

3. Add 4 cups flour to mixing bowl. Pour frothed yeast mixture on top of flour. Knead about five munutes, adding the rest of the flour 1/2 c. at a time. Dough should be smooth and moist, but not sticky.

4. Spray a bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl. Cover with wet towel or plastic wrap that is sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

5. While dough is rising, prepare filling. Place room temperature butter and pumpkin puree in small bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until mixture is smooth. In another small bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon.

6. pour dough out on slightly floured surface. Roll into a rectangle, dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Spread the pumpkin/butter mixture over rectangle. Next, evenly spread the sugar/cinnamon mixture on top, slightly pressing it into the dough.

7. Roll up long side of dough, forming long tube. Cut tube with sharp knife about every 2 inches, making 12 rolls. Place rolls in lightly greased 9x13 baking pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes.

8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

9. Bake rolls in oven until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla to make the frosting. Spread on warm rolls.

Now you all have to make them because this took forever for me to type.

Quiche au Fromage

Melissa suggested I make this for one of my meals because I was STUMPED and not in the mood to cook. So easy! I felt bad for about a minute that I used a store-bought pie crust (they're so cheap). I think I'll eat the leftovers for breakfast. Quiche is so versatile. This is in the 2nd Sisters' Cookbook in the holiday section. I've made a couple of minor changes.

1 pastry crust
6 large eggs
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 c. milk
8 oz. Swiss cheese (I used a 10 oz. block and grated it)
1 pkg. mini-cubed ham (Hormel)
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cover the edges of your pie crust with aluminum foil and poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust. Bake the crust for about 15 minutes. Remove foil from edges and set crust aside.

In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream and milk until thoroughly blended. Add ham and stir. Pour the mixture into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and the nutmeg. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.

IMPORTANT - Place the store-bought crust on a cookie sheet or something with an edge so you don't make a mess of your oven. :-)